Shan Masood: “Hasnain was bowling really well and [was] a personal standout for me”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood said pace bowler Mohammad Hasnain has been the standout player for him as of late.
Hasnain has rediscovered his form in the last few domestic tournaments and is starting to gain traction in his bid to return to the national team.
The 24-year-old was the highest wicket-taker in the Champions One-Day Cup, which was a domestic 50-over competition that took place in Faisalabad, as he finished with 17 wickets in six matches for the Panthers at an average of 16.17.
The Hyderabad native then featured in the President’s Cup Grade-I (1-Day) tournament and was the joint third-highest wicket-taker with nine victims in four games for Pakistan Television at an average of 19.55.
Masood acknowledged how well Hasnain has been bowling and admitted that the 150 kph speedster captured his attention for all the right reasons.
“Hasnain was bowling really well and [was] a personal standout for me,” he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Hasnain was not picked for Pakistan’s two-Test series against Bangladesh, which the men in green lost 2-0.
He also wasn’t selected for the three-match Test series against England, which Pakistan won 2-1.
However, he did make his international comeback during the limited overs tour of Australia and took three wickets in three ODIs at an average of 34.
Pakistan ended up winning 2-1, which gave them their first ODI series win in Australia since 2002.
Hasnain did not feature in the three-match T20I series that followed, which Australia won 3-0.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a white-ball tour of Zimbabwe, where they will play three ODIs and three T20Is from November 24 to December 5.
Pakistan Squad for Australia ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan Squad for Australia T20I Series: Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe T20I Series: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan